variants
also débâcles
1
as in disasters
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction
the financial debacle that was the stock market crash of 1929
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in failures
something that has failed
the movie, which some had predicted would be a blockbuster, turned out to be the summer's biggest debacle at the multiplexes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of debacles
The one tiny potential upside of the populist movement was its apparent reluctance to plunge the nation into foreign debacles.
—
Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
From shocking district alignments to puzzling travel debacles, many coaches were left shaking their heads in disbelief.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
Several similar debacles have plagued the team over the last six years, but this one may just take the cake.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU fans have been looking for a reason to stay invested.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
The concept was so sticky and compelling, though, that others started mining histories of notorious debacles for more examples of the same.
—David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025
Those debacles not only angered voters but showed to the bond markets that Labour would struggle to shore up Britain’s public finances.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Japan is also looking at political uncertainty as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to step down, following electoral debacles that saw the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lose its majority in both the lower and upper houses of parliament.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025
Property tax debacles Legislators and other panelists were split on how the recall could affect ongoing discourse around property tax valuations in Jackson County.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2025
Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
From shocking district alignments to puzzling travel debacles, many coaches were left shaking their heads in disbelief.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
Several similar debacles have plagued the team over the last six years, but this one may just take the cake.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU fans have been looking for a reason to stay invested.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
The concept was so sticky and compelling, though, that others started mining histories of notorious debacles for more examples of the same.
—David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025
Those debacles not only angered voters but showed to the bond markets that Labour would struggle to shore up Britain’s public finances.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Japan is also looking at political uncertainty as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to step down, following electoral debacles that saw the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lose its majority in both the lower and upper houses of parliament.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025
Property tax debacles Legislators and other panelists were split on how the recall could affect ongoing discourse around property tax valuations in Jackson County.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debacles
Noun
-
The country observed three days of national mourning for one of the worst air disasters recorded in recent memory.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The importance of speed Among the many lessons drawn from these disasters was that speed is the coin of the realm.—
Sheena Samu,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
When a series of tragic failures at New Era Community Health Center left scores of the county’s weakest, poorest and most erratic residents in danger, Florida health inspectors took the unusual step of threatening to shut down the home.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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In 2023, the number dropped significantly, even as supervision failures within jails persisted, down to 63.—
Ryan Oehrli
April 1,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In 1941, Japan’s Pearl Harbor surprise attack triggered a nearly 2-year chain of American military catastrophes.—
Gil Troy,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
But the effects on Qatar’s economy and global energy markets were profound, offering a glimpse of the catastrophes that might follow a broader Iranian military campaign against energy facilities across the Persian Gulf.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But there is something so wonderful about being fifty and having your own job and having been through so many disappointments that a situation like this is filtered through different experiences and people—the narrator’s discernment has an incredible clarity.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
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The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves were two of baseball’s biggest disappointments last year, but there is good reason to believe both will be much improved heading into 2026.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Conrad said tragedies like the one that took Altman’s life remind him and other firefighters of the job’s danger.—
Madeline King,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Caroline, as an ambassador of her family’s dynasty, has to offer condolences while keeping a stiff upper lip, only able to work through the latest of many tragedies in her life internally.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, the surrealist musical follows one nuclear family across thousands of years and three apocalypses.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
10 Dec. 2025
-
And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Colorado went 43-119, a record that belongs in a museum exhibit beside other modern-era calamities, behind glass.—
Jenny Catlin,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
There were intervening calamities that Walz, Ellison and Omar had nothing to do with, COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debacles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debacles. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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